I’m going to tell you how cars and dirt track racing brought my husband and me together.
One Saturday night at Florence Speedway, my friends and I were coming down from the stands and I ran into a sort of friend from Owensville. It was Richard. He was with his fiancée. 
Anyway, he called and asked me out. You know on a date. I told him NO! You dated my sister-He said not for a year! I said you are younger than me. He said, get this, ‘I like older women!’ I still said no! Lol! I had heard through the grapevine that he had gotten a new car. A great new car! He called again. I asked my sister if she minded if I went out with her old boyfriend? She said yes kind of. Next time he called I said yes.
That car-my goodness-that car. He pulled into the driveway in a white 1966 Mercury Comet GT-190—-4 on the floor! OH MY! That thing would flat fly!
That Comet beat just about everyone around drag racing! He was the one guy who drove fast I was not afraid to ride with. Do you know backbone hill? Well I personally have been in a 66 Comet that dragged raced up backbone hill! Why I am alive I do not know. Not a big deal. Every time I go up or down backbone I remember those drags and shudder. I always said he never took me anyplace I didn’t have to sit on a bench. Baseball, basketball, dirt tracks, always a bench.
He decided to drag race his car at Edgewater Drag strip. His friends and I were excited to see what his time would be. Well-he took off down the track flying high. Then nothing. He didn’t come back-the announcer just said he was stopped almost to the finish line. All of a sudden here he came huffing and swearing. The gear shift had come off in his hand. Anyway the guys got it fixed. I did find a letter in his jacket I had on. His one time girlfriend wanted to get together again.
On the way home I told him I had found the letter. He said very little. I told him that he needed to make up his mind what he wanted, to go back to to her or to still see me. I was not going to play games. So I told him to let me know his decision. He didn’t call or come over for at least 2 weeks. When he finally did it was to tell me they were over. I was the one. We were not engaged but close.
More races, more games, more him laying on the floor while my sisters sat on his back. More of their laughter as he put them in their bunk beds. My mother asked me once- doesn’t that boy have a home? He was reluctant to let me drive the 66. I did once! I drove to Tri County Speedway. I didn’t know he was keeping an eye on me from way behind. Of course I floored the thing almost all the way there. He pulled right behind me in the parking lot. He was so mad. He said “never again”!
When he was drafted I wanted him to leave the car for me to drive. He was sure I would get killed driving it. He sold it to a local guy who totaled it in about six months.
I always told him I loved him for his car. I really loved him for himself!